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designed; designing; designs
transitive verb
2a : to conceive and plan out in the mind
he designed the perfect crime
c : to devise for a specific function or end
a book designed primarily as a college textbook a suitcase designed to hold a laptop computer
3 archaic : to indicate with a distinctive mark, sign, or name
4a : to make a drawing, pattern, or sketch of
… a curious woman whose dresses always looked as if they had been designed in a rage …— Oscar Wilde
b : to draw the plans for
design a building designing a new bike
intransitive verb
1 : to conceive or execute a plan
1a : a particular purpose or intention held in view by an individual or group
He has ambitious designs for his son.
more by accident than design
2 : a mental project or scheme in which means to an end are laid down
was never part of my design
b designs plural : aggressive or evil intent
—used with on or againsthe has designs on the money
4 : a preliminary sketch or outline showing the main features of something to be executed
the design for the new stadium
b : a plan or protocol for carrying out or accomplishing something (such as a scientific experiment) also : the process of preparing this
6 : the arrangement of elements or details in a product or work of art
… his sense of structure, both in the general design of Paradise Lost and Samson, and in his syntax …— T. S. Eliot
7 : a decorative pattern
a floral design
